LPCDreissues: Looking forward to the past

When it was decided to reissue Jake Holmes’ first album,The Above GroundSound, we had not anticipated the amazing level of interest that itgenerated. Of course, the fact that the album included Dazed And Confusedhad quite a lot to do with it, but it soon became apparent that Holmes’music, along with the work of a number of other male singer-songwriters isenjoying a bit of a renaissance at the moment.So it is easy to imagine our pleasure and excitement when we were asked torelease Jake’s second album, A Letter To Katherine December, a record thatmany critics rate even more highly than his first. This is indeed a greatfollow-up; an album which easily evades the shadow of its predecessor’ssuccess and another recording that, in typical Holmes fashion, defiesdescription. Although Rick Randle, whose bizarre bass playing was such afeature of The Above Ground Sound, is missing on this one, Charlie Fox’simmaculate string and horn arrangements more than compensate. Holmes’eccentric song writing is here in all its rich diversity, the sound quality isoutstanding and the production standards superb. As was the case with itspredecessor, A Letter failed to achieve any real commercial impact, soHolmes switched to a more country feel for his next two releases. Obviouslyhe had perplexed the people at Tower Records enough by this time as thelabel cancelled his contract. Without a safety net, Holmes plunged into theworld of TV commercials, which, ironically, is where he was to eventuallyenjoy his only real financial success. Another great album that werecommend without reservation
Track listing: 1. Saturday Night 2. Late Sleeping Day 3. Chase Your Eyes 4. The Diner Song 5. High School Hero 6. Moving Day 7. Leaves Never Break 8. It’s Always Somewhere Else 9. Sleeping Woman 10. Houston Street